The Karachi police chief on Monday constituted a four-member team to investigate the incidents of torching vehicles after the deadly road accident on Rashid Minhas Road that left two siblings dead and their father injured in the early hours of Monday.
According to a copy of the order issued by Addl IG Javed Alam Odho, the investigation would be conducted under the supervision of West Zone police chief DIG Irfan Ali Baloch. Other members include District Central SSP Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqui, District West SSP Tariq Elahi Mastoi and Investigation West-I SP Anam Tajjamul.
Odho directed the team to make all-out efforts to identify and arrest the suspects involved in the arson and to complete the investigation from all angles with concrete evidence. He added that the team may include any Karachi Range officer to assist in the probe and must submit progress reports on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, the Karachi Road Accident Analysis Team (KRAAT), a specialised unit formed by the city police to investigate traffic accidents, has released its findings on the Rashid Minhas Road incident.
According to the KRAAT report, a motorbike (registration No. KNC-2625) was struck by a dumper (registration No. TKS-380), leaving three people injured. Two of the victims, Mahnoor and Ahmed Raza, later died from their injuries.
The dumper was empty at the time of the accident, and its driver was taken into custody on the spot before being handed over to the Yousuf Plaza police station, where FIR No. 81/25 was registered against him.
The IT incharge of the DIGP Traffic Office confirmed that neither the seven dumpers set ablaze following the incident nor the dumper involved in the collision were equipped with trackers. No speed monitoring device was installed in dumper No. TKS-380 to record its speed at the time of the crash.
The driver told the investigators he had been driving since Maghrib, and the collision occurred during his third trip of the night after unloading sand. He claimed to be travelling at around 50 km/h when the accident took place.
KRAAT’s initial observations suggest the accident was triggered when the motorbike slipped, causing pillion riders Mahnoor and Raza to fall under the rear wheels of the dumper. The motorbike sustained only minor damage on its right side, consistent with a slip prior to impact. The investigators also noted that the burnt dumpers had no safety barriers to prevent serious injuries in such incidents.
The report also included preventive recommendations: enforce speed monitoring of heavy vehicles on Rashid Minhas Road, restrict the movement of heavy vehicles in populated areas during late-night hours, improve street lighting and install traffic-calming measures near the Lucky One area, make speed tracking and location tracking devices mandatory for all heavy vehicles, require dumpers to have safety barriers to reduce accident severity, coordinate with law enforcement for crowd control during accident-related unrest and implement mandatory drug testing for all heavy vehicle drivers.
Karachi traffic police chief DIG Pir Muhammad Shah told The News that around 50 per cent of the city’s heavy vehicles have been fitted with tracking systems, while the remaining would be equipped within the next one or two months.
According to him, the city has an estimated 20,000 heavy vehicles, including dumpers, trailers and trucks. Of these, roughly 10,000 are already equipped with trackers. “The remaining vehicles are in the process of installation and this will be completed within one or two months.”
When asked about the dumper involved in the Rashid Minhas Road accident not having a tracker, the DIG explained that the relevant law has not yet been passed. “The law is expected to be enacted within a couple of months. Once it is in place, any heavy vehicle without a tracker will face a fine of Rs100,000.”
He noted that various tracker companies are available in the market, and it is the responsibility of heavy vehicle owners to have trackers installed and grant access to the traffic police. “The 10,000 vehicles already fitted with trackers are linked to our system. Once the rest are installed, their access will also be available to us.”
On the issue of the dumper lacking a fitness certificate, the DIG clarified that issuing such certificates falls under the transport department’s jurisdiction. “Traffic police can only check a driver’s licence and the fitness certificate issued by the transport department. If either is missing, it is our duty to impose a fine.”
Responding to a question about rising accidents, he said that there is no single cause. “Sometimes it’s the fault of heavy vehicle drivers, other times it’s motorcyclists. You can’t hold one group solely responsible for every accident.”
He also pointed out that in most traffic accidents, the legal sections applied are not stringent, allowing impounded vehicles to be released by courts. In many cases, drivers or vehicle owners settle with the victim’s family outside court. “The stricter the laws, sections and punishments, the more careful heavy vehicle drivers will be in avoiding such accidents.”
Meanwhile, Sindh government spokesperson Sadia Javed has said that 14 to 15 people have been arrested in connection with the incident of dumpers being set on fire.
In a statement, she confirmed that the SHOs of two police stations, Federal B Industrial Area and Yousuf Plaza, have been suspended. She added that dumper owners had earlier been given a three-month deadline to install trackers and safety guards around the wheels of their vehicles.
The Rashid Minhas Road accident claimed the lives of a young woman and her brother. Following the tragedy, enraged locals assaulted the dumper driver and set seven dumpers ablaze.
According to police, the Pakistan Penal Code’s Section 320, which describes the offence of Qatl-i-Khata, has been included in the case, and the dumper driver has been arrested. The complainant said his niece and nephew were killed in the crash while his brother was injured.
Driver remanded
A judicial magistrate on Monday remanded the driver of a dumper truck in police custody for two days in a case pertaining to the death of two siblings in a fatal accident. Firdous Khan was arrested after the heavy vehicle he was driving hit a motorcyclist and his two pillion riders on Rashid Minhas Road near UBL Sports Complex in the early hours of Sunday. Consequently, 22-year-old Mahnoor and her 14-year-old brother died on the spot while their father Shakir, 48, suffered critical injuries. After the incident, enraged people set fire to seven trucks.
The investigating officer produced the suspect before Judicial Magistrate (Central) Farman Ali Tagar and requested his physical custody for further investigation. He stated that the held driver had no HTV licence while he had a LTV licence, which too had expired.
He said the suspect’s custody is required for verification of his driving licence and to obtain information about the owner of the vehicle. After hearing the IO, the magistrate remanded the driver in police custody for two days with a direction to produce him on completion of physical remand with a progress report. An FIR has been lodged at the Yousuf Plaza police station under Section 320 (punishment for qatl-i-khata by rash or negligent driving) of Pakistan Penal Code.